July ETF Roundup: Launches, Filings And Closures

July was dominated by Q2 earnings reports, with low expectations going into the season. While trading was lackluster and earnings reports were mixed at times, Ben Bernanke has continued charging forward with his plans to work the economy off of QE and back into a self sustaining cycle. Ending the month was the GDP results for Q2, which came in better than expected, thoug the figure is still not rising at an outstanding rate [for updates on all new ETFs, sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter].

New ETFs

New exchange-traded products that began trading in June include:

WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund (DXJS) and United Kingdom Hedged Equity Fund (DXPS): WisdomTree was first on the scene this month, launching two new single country ETFs that offer exposure to the equity markets while also neutralizing the effects of how the home currencies are impacted by the U.S. dollar.

EGShares Emerging Markets Dividend Growth ETF (EMDG): Also launching a product on July 1st was EG Shares, bringing an index of 50 dividend paying companies from emerging markets to the scene.

SPDR Russell 2000 ETF (TWOK): Building its own portfolio based on the Russell 2000, State Street released this new fund just after Independence day and already TWOK is making a dent in the existing Russell funds.

iSharesBond 2016 Corporate Term ETF (IBDA), 2018 Corporate Term ETF (IBDB), 2020 Corporate Term ETF (IBDC), 2023 Corporate Term ETF (IBDD):iShares has once again expanded its already extensive lineup, focusing on global corporate bonds with a range of expiration dates.

MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL): ThisiShares fund takes a factor-based approach in trimming down the starting universe by employing a series of fundamental metrics screens to narrow down to only the highest-quality of companies.

BulletShares 2021 Corporate Bond ETF (BSCL) and 2022 Corporate Bond ETF (BSCM): Guggenheim is adding two new fixed income funds aimed at investors in search of more targeted maturities when it comes to corporate bonds exposure.

Athena International Bear ETF (HDGI): AdvisorShares is rolling out a one-of-a-kind product that should catch the attention of anyone wary of the market’s steep run-up thus far on the year.

CSI China Five Year Plan ETF (KFYP): The new issuer, KraneShares, is expected to focus exclusively on China-centric strategies, and KFYP is the very first of seven funds in total waiting in the development pipeline.

WisdomTree US SmallCap Dividend Growth Fund (DGRS): This new WisdomTree ETF will look to take advantage of the markets’ growing optimism as it targets arguably the most volatile corner of the domestic market: small cap stocks.

VelocityShares Equal Risk Weighted Large Cap ETF (ERW): The last addition for July comes from VelocityShares, which launched its solution to a low volatility view of the general U.S. market.

Coming Soon

A number of new issuers filed paperwork in July to join the ETF market, along with some industry veterans:

ALPS is backing the RiverFront strategy that has been in the making for over three years, and after submitting an updated prospectus earlier this week it seems the fund may soon make its way to market

ETF newcomer, Syntax Analytics has submitted paperwork with the SEC in hopes of offering a range of actively managed ETFs.

Last fall, LocalShares announced plans to create a Nashville ETF, and while many in the industry assumed the fund would never come together, the issuer has updated its regulatory paperwork and launched the fund on August 1st.

Seasoned veteran to the ETF industry, Deutsche Bank’s U.S. office sent paperwork to the SEC late last week, seeking permission to offer long/short and index creation rights for these funds.

The firm behind the growing FactorShares ETFs, Gencap, has approached the SEC this week searching for approval to offer active funds. One of the first funds the company is hoping to launch under the active banner is a Mongolia equity ETF that the company has been working on for a while.

ETF Closings

After a number of closings in June, issuers have focused more on filling the pipeline than cutting dead weight, leading to no closures this month.

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